Centre to procure 21.5 crore vaccine doses from Serum Institute of India in October

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has set a target to supply almost 21.50 crore doses in October as the Centre eyes procuring 27-28 crore vaccines this month, said a report by ANI. The announcement is considered significant as the Adar Poonawalla-owned SII has supplied 78 crore doses of its Covishield vaccine ever since the vaccination drive began in India. 

Quoting the sources, ANI reported that the SII will contribute to the Centre’s target of procuring 27-28 crore doses and will work in tandem with Covaxin manufacturer Bharat Biotech for the same. However, this number of vaccine doses will not include contributions from Biological E and the Zydus Cadila, the agency clarified.

As for production in November, the SII will be collaborating with Zydus Cadila and Biological E for ramping up production which is estimated to take the number to 28 crore vaccine doses in a single month. 

According to ANI sources, the government has plans to celebrate the day when India will administer 100 crore vaccine doses. As of now, the country has administered one crore doses at five instances taking the total vaccination coverage to 89.67 crores. Meanwhile, nearly 70 lakh doses have been administered as on October 1. 

Image: AP, Twitter/@AdarPoonawalla